Geneva Barometer

February 2020

Multilateral Dialogue Geneva

Geneva Barometer

Developments in Geneva’s International Organisations Mid-November 2019 – Mid-February 2020

, Olaf Wientzek, Sarah Ultes, Rena Geis

The “Geneva Barometer” takes an occasional look at a few selected developments amongst the international organisations based in Geneva.

The turn of the year was marked in Ge- made until literally the last minute, generated neva by a contradictory dynamic: On the disappointment. It is now uncertain what will one hand, several international organisa- happen next. Statements made by US Presi- tions were con-fronted with severe cri- dent Donald Trump at the mar-gins of the ses, while on the other hand, ambitious World Economic Forum in Davos in January promises for the future were made in caused a stir, suggesting as they did that there might be a possible solution to the crisis in the many places. At the WHO, the handling of not-too-distant future. When it comes to the the Corona virus (COVID-19) has domi- specific details, however, there is still funda- nated the agenda since January. In the mental disagreement. That was made clear WTO the focus has been on the crisis aris- once again in a report by the US Trade Repre- ing from the Appellate Body crisis in De- sentative Robert Lighthizer, published on 11 cember. But there were also glimmers of February, which represented a reckoning with hope: There was guarded optimism at the the function of the Appellate Body, even going conclusion of the UNHCR’s first Global so far as to deny its legitimacy1. No agree- Refugee Forum. Also at the margins of ment is now expected before the Ministerial Davos positive signals with respect to the Conference in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan in future of the WTO dispute settlement June. In order to fill this vacuum, the EU and mechanism could be heard – though 16 other WTO members (see map) signed a these should be treated with caution and political declaration at the margins of the some healthy scepticism. meeting in Davos, creating a temporary solution for dispute settlement until agreement is World Trade Organisation – between reached on a reformed Appellate Body2. No- the Appellate Body crisis and Nur- tably: the signatories include China, Brazil and Sultan Australia, some of the WTO heavy-weights and regular users of the WTO’s dispute settle- Since 11 December the Dispute Settlement ment function. However, the (difficult) details role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is of such an interim solution have yet to be effectively suspended, after the USA contin- worked out. ued to block the appointment of new members of the Appellate Body. This development had So while one pillar of the WTO is in crisis, been looming for quite some time. And yet the meetings on other dossiers continue un- failure of mediation attempts, which were changed, in order to be able to present some

1 US Trade Representative: Report on the Appel- 2 Political declaration in Davos, 24.01.2020: late Body on the World Trade Organization: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/janu- https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/Re- ary/tradoc_158596.pdf port_on_the_Appel- late_Body_of_the_World_Trade_Organization.pdf Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. country report February 2020 2 2

results in Nur-Sultan. These include in the first instance the successful conclusion of fisheries Global health – Focus on “COVID-19” negotiations that have lasted for more than 20 years. This would be significant for two rea- Since January 2020, the main focus has been sons: first, the heads of states and govern- on “COVID-19” (the official name of the Co- ments committed to reaching an agreement in rona virus): After the People’s Republic of 2020; a successful negotiation would send an China made the first cases public at the begin- important signal about the WTO’s capacity to ning of January, the World Health Organisa- act. Second, with a view to the sustainable de- tion (WHO) decided on 30 January to an- velopment agenda, an agreement would be of nounce a so-called Public Health Emergency of essential significance in the fight against over- International Concern (PHEIC). The reason for fishing (Sustainable Development Goal 14 this was the rapid spread of the virus – also "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, outside China – and efforts to better protect seas and marine resources for sustainable de- countries with weaker healthcare systems. Ac- velopment"). Some negotiators stress that, cording to the International Health Regula- without an agreement in the fisheries dossier, tions (IHR) of 2005, such a “public health one cannot speak of a successful ministerial emergency” occurs when an illness is "a public conference. It remains to be seen whether any health risk to other States through the inter- consensus can be reached. After many months national spread of disease and to potentially were wasted in 2019 due to a dispute on the require a coordinated international response", nomination of a chairperson between several when it is evaluated to be serious, unusual or member states, talks are currently progress- unexpected, and where the situation demands ing only slowly. On 6/7 February the EU, to- immediate, international action3. Member gether with Taiwan, Japan and the Republic of states are free to act as they see fit, the WHO Korea, presented a new text containing, has no leverage with which to enforce them to among other things, a promise to grant longer take certain actions. However, the WHO – and transition periods to developing countries for in particular Director General Tedros Ghe- the dismantling of fishing subsidies. The reac- breyesus – has warned repeatedly against tions of the ACP countries, India and China adopting excessively drastic measures, dis- were cautiously positive, however the discus- seminating inaccurate information, and taking sions are still likely to be difficult. Other topics unnecessary action that could impair interna- on the agenda in Nur-Sultan are also not free tional traffic and trade. Some countries were from conflict, such as the extension of the accused of not having provided proper notifi- moratorium on electronic trade. No agreement cation of such restrictive measures. Ger- is expected on the plurilateral initiative re- many’s reaction was praised for being level- garding electronic trade, in which 82 member headed and appropriate. At the meeting of the states now participate. A joint public declara- Executive Board of WHO at the beginning of tion by the participating countries on this mat- February there was criticism of China’s contin- ter could already be considered as a success. ued exclusion of Taiwan from the exchange of Other issues: small and medium-sized busi- information, and from WHO committees: nesses, and the difficult ongoing topic of agri- Many countries (including Germany) warned culture. In many of these dossiers, the USA is that, irrespective of political matters, there a constructive partner; how-ever, there are should be no “blank spots” on the prevention unsettling reports that the Trump administra- map, with the most stinging criticism coming tion is seeking an increase in tariff ceilings, from the USA and some smaller countries. and plans to leave the Agreement on Govern- ment Procurement. As of mid-February the number of deaths had already reached more than 2,000, although In light of this difficult political environment, the death rate still remains below that of SARS the Kazakh government is faced with the chal- (around 9% at the time). To date the WHO has lenge not only of cutting a good figure logisti- been very reticent in making possible fore- cally at the Ministerial Conference, but also of casts of the further spread of the virus; as yet, achieving some conclusions, or at least some its representatives are not speaking of a “pan- progress in negotiations, also in the complex demic”. The priority is to prevent the virus dossiers. reaching countries that already have fragile

3 https://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/pheic/en/

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. country report February 2020 3 3

healthcare systems, especially in sub-Saharan Executive Board of the WHO, the Belgian Hans Africa. Most recently, 13 African countries Kluge was elected the new regional director have been equipped with special tests for de- for Europe. tecting the virus.4 In addition, on 11/12 Feb- On 25 January the 51 year-old WHO Director ruary the WHO organised a “Global Research for Universal Health Coverage, the Australian and Innovation Forum” in Geneva, at which Dr. Peter Salama, died unexpectedly. researchers discussed a coordinated approach for possible treatments. The objective was to define a joint agenda for researching the virus, First Global Refugee Forum – its transmission, and the development of ther- a hopeful start apies and vaccines. At present around 30 different antiviral medicines are being tested. It Exactly one year after the acceptance of the is likely that clinical tests for possible vaccines Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) on 17 De- can begin as early as the beginning of April. cember 2018 by 181 states at the UN General Assembly in New York5, around 3.000 repre- What was conspicuous in recent weeks is the sentatives from governments, international repeated and explicit praise given by Tedros organisations, foundations, multinational Ghebreyesus to China for its efforts. Critics - companies, development organisations, civil particularly but not exclusively from the US society and more than 70 refugees came to- side - accuse him of being too indulgent of Bei- gether in Geneva from 16-18 December 2019 jing, especially with regard to the suppression for the first Global Refugee Forum (GRF). The of reports about the virus in the first few prominent guests at the Palace of Nations in- weeks, and a lack of transparency. Other ob- cluded the heads of state and government of servers praise precisely the “diplomatic” tone Turkey, Pakistan, Costa Rica and the Domini- of the WHO Director General, to which there can Republic. The UN High Commissioner for had been no alternative and which had con- Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and UN General Sec- tributed decisively to the cooperative stance of retary Antonio Guterres called for a decisive China. turnaround in the new decade that will provide long-term support to the ca. 70 million dis- The WHO was positive in its assessment of the placed persons, including 25.9 million refu- progress in fighting Ebola in the DR Congo: gees. only very few new cases have been registered recently. Nevertheless, the WHO resolved on In the unanimous view of several observers, 12 February to maintain for the time being the the forum, organised by Germany, Turkey, Pa- classification “Public Health Emergency of In- kistan, Costa Rica and Ethiopia, exceeded the ternational Concern”. There is still a risk that (admittedly modest) expectations. As well as the epidemic will re-emerge. The focus in on the surprisingly high number of participants, attempts to strengthen the healthcare system. more than 893 pledges6 of a material and Since its outbreak, the epidemic has claimed technical nature, more than 10 billion US dol- more than 2,000 lives. lars of financial aid, and 400 best-practice pro- jects prompted a generally positive mood. The The future of emergency preparedness is also primary objective was to ensure improved ac- currently being discussed at the WHO. One cess for refugees to education and the em- consideration is the introduction of a kind of ployment market. A further positive surprise traffic-light system that would provide more was the great interest shown by the private room for manoeuvre than the current regula- sector. Even though some heads of state (Tur- tion, which only provides for the possibility to key and Pakistan) used the forum, as ex- declare a “health emergency”. pected, for heavily ideological declarations, Other topics at the WHO Executive Board: the level of politicisation was generally lower medication prices, preparations for the World than previously feared. Health Assembly in May. At the margins of the

4 https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/contain- 5 For voting behaviour see Map of the Month De- ment-is-objective-says-who-head-as-new-corona- cember 2019: https://www.kas.de/de/web/multi- virus-clusters-emerge-in-france-who-team-lands- lateraler-dialog-genf/map-of-the-month/detail/- in-china/ /content/migration-3 6 For more details on the pledges: https://global- compactrefugees.org/channel/pledges-contribu- tions

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. country report February 2020 4 4

However, the question of the sharing of re- audience. She will also advocate for a stronger sponsibility among the states remained by and integration of the Geneva topics in New York. large untouched. To date, ca. 1/4 of the 193 Between the council meeting of September UN member states bear primary responsibility 2019 and the meeting of February 2020 there as host or donor countries. Germany is the were two Universal Periodic Reviews (UPRs). only country that belongs simultaneously to Since 2007, all council members subject the most important host and donor countries. themselves, using this mechanism, to a mu- Therefore, one of the main tasks in the future tual review of their human rights situation remains ensuring the stronger involvement of based on the UN Charter, the Universal Decla- the countries of the so-called “missing mid- ration of Human Rights, the ratified human dle”, as well as the coordination of humanitar- rights instruments, and in some cases also in- ian aid, development aid and peace promotion ternational humanitarian law. By far the most to combat the causes of flight and displace- proposed changes were received by Egypt, fol- ment. It remains to be seen in the coming lowed by Iran. Beyond the routine reviews, the months to what extent the pledges will be fol- publication of a long-suppressed report lowed by actions. The refugee relief agency caused a stir: On 12 February, the office of the plans to publish an initial analysis of the re- High Commissioner for Human Rights, sults by March, with the first intermediate re- Michelle Bachelet, complied with a demand by port to come in 2021. The second forum is the Council, made in March 2016, to create a scheduled for 2023. database of companies that are active in Is-

raeli settlements7. This resolution was passed Human rights at the time with 32 yes votes, no votes

against, and 15 abstentions. The EU – includ- In the Palace of the Nations, not only have nu- ing Germany – abstained, since a databank merous elevators been out of order for months cannot adequately address the comprehensive – the liquidity crisis is also considerably im- problem. The Israeli mission in Geneva con- pairing the Council’s human rights mandate, demned the publication as discriminatory, as the mechanisms and the treaty bodies. Not support for the “boycott, divestment and sanc- only have employees been dismissed and tions (BDS) movement”, and declared that the meetings cancelled, there is generally a pessi- High Commissioner lacked legitimacy. mistic mood regarding this year’s council meetings, as to whether the agenda can be The UN Human Rights Committee made what addressed successfully in the timeframe pro- is possibly a groundbreaking decision on 21 vided. Even the UN Special Envoys, who inves- January 2020, after many years of debate tigate human rights infringements worldwide, among scientists and politicians on the status are also impaired in their work. The Commis- of climate refugees. The committee, which sion of Inquiry on Syria, which is currently also monitors compliance with the International following the attacks on Idlib and recording Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1996, breaches of international law, is still waiting as well as its supplementary protocols, con- for most of its money. This problem was also cluded in the case of a claim by a citizen of the referred to by the former Austrian UN ambas- Pacific island of Kiribati that climate change sador Tichy-Fisslberger, who was elected as can also serve as a basis for the right to claim the new President of the Human Rights Council asylum, i.e. states may not deport or refoule on 6 December, in a personal letter to the UN such people if there is a danger to life and General Secretary. He is expected to make a limb8. Although this claim was rejected with programmatic keynote address at the start of the reference that there are still measures the February conference. As well as the available that can yet be taken to improve the strengthening of women’s rights, climate life of citizens on the Pacific island, the deci- change, new technologies and global migra- sion is regarded as a precedence-setting tion, Tichy-Fisslberger wants to make the judgement nevertheless. The issue of climate work of the council more accessible to a wider refugees is already playing an increasing role

7 The resolution A/HRC/RES/31/36 from 2016 can https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Regu- be accessed at: https://documents-dds- larSessions/Session43/Pages/ListReports.aspx ny.un.org/doc/UN- 8 The decision can be accessed at: DOC/GEN/G16/082/57/PDF/G1608257.pdf?OpenEl- https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Dis- ement. playNews.aspx?NewsID=25542&LangID=E The current report A/HRC/43/71 is available at:

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. country report February 2020 5 5

in Geneva’s organisations, especially in the commence on 26 February in Geneva. Observ- UN’s refugee agency. ers judged this initial rounds of talks positively – albeit with great caution. This year, Germany is represented on both the In contrast, the talks of the constitutional UN Security Council and the Human Rights committee for Syria have stagnated. No fur- Council. As well as the cross-sectional topic of ther round of talks has taken place since the women’s rights, Germany regards the rights first one at the end of October 2019. Despite to sanitary provision and water, the fight intensive pressure from Russia, the camp of against human trafficking and privacy protec- Bashar al-Assad has little or no interest in se- tion in the digital age as priorities. rious discussions, and the only separation of powers that could come about at the end of such a process would be merely cosmetic. Setbacks in international humanitarian law Personnel merry-go-round

Since 1867 the International Committee of the Lively personnel-related discussions are cur- Red Cross (ICRC) has regularly brought its na- rently ongoing in some institutions in Geneva. tional Red Cross and Red Crescent societies Some examples: together with representatives of the contractual parties of the Geneva Convention (GC), in The battle to succeed the retiring Australian order to set the agenda for the future of inter- General Director of the World Intellectual national humanitarian law and for humanitar- Property Organisation (WIPO), Francis Gurry, ian aid in general. The debates at the confer- is particularly intensive. China is proposing ence held on from 9-12 December in Geneva Wang Binying, a Deputy General Director of were surprisingly politicised, and alarming to the WIPO. Several countries, primarily west- observers. Although resolutions were ac- ern, regard her possible election critically, on cepted on new thematic areas such as data the one hand due to doubts about her inde- protection, climate change, mental health and pendence from Beijing, on the other hand due pandemics, the classical resolution on interna- to worries about excessive Chinese influence 9 tional humanitarian law came strongly under on multilateral organisations. Of the other fire. For the first time in the history of the candidates, Daren Tang from Singapore is ICRC, a passage had to be completely deleted, seen to have good prospects. China, it is being which obligated the contractual parties to en- reported, is conducting a very offensive cam- sure respect for and comply with the Geneva paign and is strongly courting votes from the Convention in all circumstances. Although the African group. Observers expect that the Chi- resolutions passed are not legally binding, nese candidate will reach the final voting they represent the reference framework for round. The nominations will be decided on 4/5 the community of states. Observers therefore March. warn that international humanitarian law is under considerable fire from various sides, After the appointment of Director Arancha and may possibly have been set back several Gonzalez to the Spanish foreign ministry in decades. January 2020, the Zambian Dorothy Ng'ambi Tembo has been named temporary Director of

the International Trade Centre. Mediation efforts Candidates are already positioning themselves After the Berlin Conference, mediation talks to succeed the WTO General Director, Ricardo began in Geneva in February on the Libya con- Azevedo, which will not occur until 2021: flict, in the 5+5 format, chaired by the UN These include the Swiss-Egyptian Hamid Special Envoy for Libya, Ghassam Salamé. As Mamdouh. The African group is trying to run a before, this first four-day round did not con- joint candidate; however, no agreement could cern direct talks. Salamé expects that political be reached so far (reportedly, i.a. candidates discussions on a peaceful solution in Libya will from Nigeria and Benin are in the mix).

9 The resolutions are accessible at: https://rcrc- conference.org/about/33rd-international-conference/documents/

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. country report February 2020 6 6

There was a thunderbolt at UNAIDS: The fe- to focus attention on selected thematic areas male leadership trio, completed by the new (with different partners). It is too soon for an Executive Director Winnie Byanyima (Uganda) assessment of the influence of this as-yet at the end of last year, did not last long. The fresh initiative. At any rate, political leadership Swedish Deputy Executive Director Gunilla will be required from Germany in order to Carlsson left the organisation at the beginning counteract the questioning of established hu- of 2020. The step was a surprise to observers, manitarian and human rights standards. after Carlsson had guided the organisation through a restructuring process as Interim Di- Recent months induce us to focus solely on the rector. crises of the global order. Yet the existing glimmers of hope should not be forgotten:

Comment & outlook whether due to the Refugee Forum or ad- vances in the improvement of healthcare in

th Early in the new year it can already be seen several countries. In light of the 75 anniver- that 2020 is likely to be an important for the sary of the United Nations, it is important to multilateral organisations in Geneva. Both the also highlight the small successes and the sig- WHO and nificance of seeking solutions. As far as expec- , tations of quick answers are concerned, the ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, last 75 years have taught us humility – and ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the need for a lot of patience. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,, ………….. , WTO must deal with different kinds of crises. At the same time, international standards continue to be under pressure, be they the WTO must de

the WTO must deal with different kinds of crises. At the same time, international standards continue to be under pressure, be they human

rights standards, international humanitarian

law, or a rules-based trading order. Germany has an important role to play in many re- spects: on the one hand due to its seat on the UN Human Rights Council, but also due to the EU Council presidency, which is also likely to play a role in various topics in Geneva. With its Alliance for Multilateralism, Germany aims

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V.

Dr. Olaf Wientzek Director of Multilateral Dialogue Geneva European and International Cooperation [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu- tion 4.0 International License CC BY-SA 4.0 (retrievable at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/le- galcode.de)